Believe in yourself

My whole family does martial arts, from my angelic-looking 7-year-old Cici to my handsome 6'5" hubby. We're a bit of a scene (see below)...but I LOVE IT! It's been good for each of us for different reasons, and it's been great for our family to have a goal-oriented activity that we do together.

This past weekend, we started "Prep Cycle." Prep Cycle is a 3-month period of extra training in preparation for earning our conditional black belts. We train 4 extra hours a week: Friday nights from 6-8pm and Saturday mornings from 7-9am. I am no stranger to long hours of physical effort, but even still, it's hard. For many of these kids, it's their first experience with struggling through the pain of a challenging workout. My oldest daughter, Aleida, is 6 months ahead of the rest of us in training, so she is already a conditional black belt. Prep cycle helped her overcome some of the anxiety she struggles with when faced with new and difficult events. It toughened her up, and she's extremely proud of spear-heading our family's martial arts efforts. 
        On Saturday, after prep cycle, I was texting back and forth with some friends (a married couple) I've known since high school. It is a happy coincidence that their son is going through prep cycle with my family. The first weekend is always the hardest (the instructors like to set the standard high), so I wanted to see how he'd fared after his first weekend of training. His father responded via text: "He said Cici was super encouraging to him when he could not breathe [during the mile run]." 
        After I got the text, I asked my daughter what she said to him. Her answer: "Well...I told him that my mom is a life coach,  and she always tells me that if you believe in yourself, then you CAN do it."
         I'll admit, I cried a little. First of all, my sassy, willful daughter DOES LISTEN! While I often feel like my attempts to coach my kids are completely futile, this was evidence that some of it is sinking in. Not only that, she passed it on to someone else. 
        Secondly, without realizing it, Cici hit upon one of the foundations of the life coaching philosophy. As a coach, I believe that you are the expert on your life and that you have all the tools and resources that you need to succeed at your goals.  Coaching is about improving your mindset so that you can believe in yourself, and therefore remove any obstacles to doing it...whatever "it" may be. 
         Cici's statement was simple, but it made an impact. My friends' son felt encouraged and he completed the run. Likewise, coaching is simple. At its basic form, coaching is a conversation. But that conversation makes an impact. Another belief among coaches is that the real coaching happens between the sessions. How do you implement what was discussed in a session?  You will be amazed at how a minor shift in mindset or focus can yield major changes, especially with the support and accountability that comes with a coaching partnership.
       Coaching is not therapy. Coaching does not dwell in the past. Coaching is about forward movement, about tapping into the best version of yourself so that you can lead a productive, meaningful, and satisfied life. 
      I'm looking for a few good clients, so contact me to set up an introductory session. "If you believe in yourself, you CAN DO IT!"